Tag Archives: kitchen table economics

“If people were employed at creating heaven on earth, everybody would be happy; instead each one is creating his own heaven by creating hell for others.”

―

Bangambiki Habyarimana

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“Self-interest makes some people blind, and others sharp-sighted.”

—

Francois de La Rochefoucauld

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Well.

As a business guy I most often view Life, government and politics, as well as business issues, thru a business lens.

It is fairly rare that I view business through a government prism.

And, yet, as I sat down to discuss self-interest and managing self-interest as a leader I found that using a governing prism was the most appropriate.

Self-interest sounds like it could be defined fairly simply because … well … it revolves around ‘self.’

Ah.

But ‘self’ depends on who is looking in the mirror as well as whatever ‘grouping of selfs’ you would like to gather up and discuss — in other words … self interest can vary depending on where you are standing.

That said … let’s discuss self-interest from a governing perceptive. Basically, self-interest can be captured in three concentric circles:

Self.

Country.

Global.

The business version could be self, group, company … or self, company, country … or … well … you get it.

Hmmmmmmm … ‘you get it.’ I do wonder if someone hasn’t worked in a larger company or even if they have but haven’t attained some management role if they ever ‘get it’ <completely at least>. Even being in management one can decide to keep their head down, under the guise of being focused n my responsibility, and just assume someone above in management is worrying about the larger picture and larger “interests” which will either benefit me or will not benefit me.

I learned this lesson early on in my management career – once I started managing a group. When I assumed the responsibility I assumed everyone would at some point do what I had done … changed companies and got new jobs. To be clear … I didn’t assume that everyone would actually do it I just assumed they would want to do it at some point. Therefore I viewed managing people and talking with people and leading the people through the full range of concentric interest circles. Simplistically, in my head, I said “I will train you and develop you so that you will be successful wherever you go from here.” my objective wasn’t just to make my group’s ‘self-interest’ a priority but rather insure that self, group, company and industry were all aligned so that the expertise and the ‘self’ could meet interests in all places at any time.

Yeah.

That created some challenges.

Yeah.

Sometimes it created some friction <because your group was always looking at other groups wondering why they did shit you didn’t do as well as it sometimes created a slightly different bar to meet than even the company itself may have demanded>.

But, yeah.

It always created the best version of each employee <and me I imagine>.

I say all that because no good leader will ever suggest it is all about one circle of self interest.

They know it is not only foolish but not true.

Meeting the need of each circle of interest is never trickle down or even trickle up … it is more often the three ‘circles of self’ in a line in which little balls are constantly weaving their way side-to-side … think maybe the eyes of the Cylons in BattleStar Galactica.

Meeting interests at all self-levels takes work. And most of us being managed or living in the everyday world are okay with that when it is explained.

But explaining it is important … and maybe HOW you explain it is even more important.

While people are mostly well-meaning <albeit in today’s world we would criticize the way Jesus put on his sandals in the morning> most of us truly do not care about the decision maker’s decision making process or even the decision maker’s fate and we certainly have no interest in putting ourselves into the decision maker’s shoes.

Yeah.

We naturally have self-interests and we weigh our own self-interests as we view the decision we will inevitably judge <prioritizing the other self interests as lower than our own but not mutually exclusive>.

You want a little of this without having to endure a little of that.

In other words … you want everything … you want to stand upon principles … you want the greater good to be served … uhm … without sacrificing anything. And, yet, we are more than willing to sacrifice some things for the greater good … economists call this “the benevolence of self-interest.”

It is too simplistic to look at people as mere ethically agnostic optimizing machines.

At the foundation of all economic theory, and behavioral theory, is the assumption that people are driven/grounded by the rational pursuit of self-interest. But, as everybody knows, people are not rational and they often act selflessly wherein things like honor, duty, love, etc. enter into the interest calculation.

When it comes to self interest, all circles that is, the evaluation does not solely reside in satisfaction of needs & wants but also in desires, purpose & welfare of others — and, yes, that includes global & country as well as individual.

I say all this because while self-interest is extraordinarily powerful it is not the end all.

And you know what?

Most of us know that in our heart of hearts.

So when a leader stands up and suggests it is all about you … and that ‘the other people’ who build initiatives and businesses which recognize the other circles of interest do not have your best interest in mind … while it sounds tasty … we know it will give us heartburn later.

Oddly enough I think of this type of false leadership as someone who is willing to put down the virtues of other people simply to bolster their own.

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“We’ve all started to put down the virtues of the other factions in the process of bolstering our own.

I don’t want to do that. I want to be brave, and selfless, and smart, and kind, and honest.”

–

Four <Divergent>

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And because I just pulled a quote from the Divergent series let me share some words in the Dauntless Manifesto:

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“We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.”

—-

Dauntless Manifesto <Divergent>

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Well.

There is a thought for any business leader to wrap their head around. No. There is a BIG thought.

In a me, me, me world <or at least it sometimes feels that way these days> … in a world where if I see something like ‘no one will stand up for you but yourself’ … or … ‘the only one you can count on is yourself’ one more time … I will … well … begin to lose a little faith in humanity … this thought is something we should all wrap our heads around. Especially someone whose responsibility it is to view the three concentric circles of interest and … well … lead people through them all.

A good leader need not be brave but they certainly must have some courage – courage to tell the truth & courage in convictions.

Therefore circles of interest may actually come down to ordinary acts of courage.

Courage as in stepping in front of criticism.

Courage as in stepping in front of ‘doing nothing.’

Courage as in stepping in and doing what is right <even if it may not be the easiest thing to do>.

Managing the circles of self-interest as a leader is an almost impossible task.

Pull one lever and another lever is released.

But I would argue, vehemently, that the leader who embraces the circles of interest in their interconnectedness inherently understands that separation is an illusion.

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“The greatest illusion of this world is the illusion of separation.

Things you think are separate and different are actually one and the same.

We are all one people. But we live as if divided.”

————

The Last Airbender

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While as a leader you seek to identify with the individual as unique the underlying truth is that we are all one people who simply live as if divided. And that belief is at the core of how one manages against all three concentric interest circles as you work continuously to see that employees identify their personal success with the success of the organization and the industry itself.

Anyway.

Great businesses, and countries, are multifaceted and multidimensional. I would suggest inherent in that strength are natural divides between the facets and the dimensions … and natural connections between the facets and dimensions.

Business leaders know that. And they don’t fight it but rather simply figure out a way to get all the squirrels herded in the same direction.

From the outside people may only see squirrels running around aimlessly.

From the inside you see squirrels digging up sustenance and storing it up at the nest for the benefit of the future survival and prosperity.

And it all revolves around ‘circles of self interest.’

That is the challenge every leader faces in managing a business and a larger organization. And the multiple circles make it often extremely difficult to judge leadership <because we would prefer the simplicity of judging one circle not how they all coexist>.

As Montaigne said … “truly man is a marvelously volatile, various and wavering creature: it is difficult to base a stable and uniform judgement upon him.”

A good business leader juggles the circles of self interest and sometimes it is a little volatile and almost always wavering in some way. Yet, when well done and well-articulated, it is marvelous to see and offers marvelous benefits to all circles of interest <success in one begets success in another>.

What I can unequivocally state is that any so-called leader who focuses solely on one circle <your self-interest is most often the one> is not a leader … and should not be trusted.

I admit.

I have little, if no, patience for a leader who suggests he/she will make all decisions based on self-interest, or what is best for the ‘kitchen table in every home’, and by doing so success will “trickle up” to all other circles of interest.

I have no patience because it is not only a lie but is ignorant of how things work … well … if you want enduring success that is.

I have no patience because, in their lie, they are creating a vision of heaven for you which, in reality, is a hell for all.

“If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace.”

————

Thomas Paine

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Ok.

………….. a Trump headache ………..

I have tried to get off the attention whore Trump train of the endless travels of lack of leadership behavior … but he continues to dominate news <I envision this will now be the case for the next 4 years>.

In addition … despite the fact every Trump surrogate, as well as Trump himself, wants to shrug off the election itself and simply land on “he won, get over it” … the Trump topic remains rumbling in every office, gym and bar. The gloaters and the disappointed and the concerned continue to clash and Trump <and his surrogates> continues to ignore that fact.

Me?

I continue to be baffled by his incredible lack of leadership skills.

Day after day I can come home with a simple “why didn’t he just do or say this?” thought which any leader who has led an organization with an eye toward building an employee culture <rather than an autocratic dynasty culture> knows.

I offer two thoughts today.

Hero status.

I actually did some research on the Bannon guy who seems to be some type of Trump whisperer and oddly I found the kernel of what I was seeking in what I believe was his first documentary which was on Reagan <and trust me on this … while I am not a huge Reagan fan I do not believe Trump is even in the same positive stratosphere as Reagan>.

It was there that “hero” seemed to be offered as a theme. In a cold dark world in which everything evil is attacking what America stands for and does we needed a hero … a Captain America as it were … to stand up and not only lead but bear the shield and hammer to defend it all.

Well.

That certainly appears to be the mantle Trump is seeking to drape over his own shoulders. While I would imagine ‘emperor’ would be an attractive title to him, if someone were to suggest to him “you are Captain America” I can only imagine that nasty smile that sometimes appears on his face to appear and say “I like it.”

Two things about this hero mantle Trump appears to be positioning himself for:

Americans like heroes.

But we like a slightly different type of hero. We like heroes who are not squeaky clean. We like flawed heroes. We like heroes who have a glimpse of the dark, a touch of black in our white knight. We even hesitate with burnished armor but like the slightly used

We like our heroes a little dirty.

Well.

That is what Trump wants to offer and is happily, with some obvious delight, suggesting he is THE hero we need.

Heroes need a clear, stark, black-souled enemy <and I do not mean African Americans in this black mention>.

In a Reagan world it was communism <or Russia>.

But the specific enemy is less important as long as there are no shades of gray.

It must be black and white so a white knight can be offered.

It must be sinners and saints so the flawed Saint can smote the sinner.

It demons and angels so a fallen angel can find redemption by facing the demon we all fear.

And, in Bannon’s case, it is the devil versus a Christian God <I personally believe Trump could care less about his specific distinction other than it offers him a very specific Hero role>.

Globalists. The Media. The elite. The intellectuals. The Muslims. The ever nebulous ‘establishment.’

Pick your enemy. As long as there is an enemy the Hero has someone to fight <for us>.

Transactional branding.

In the business and marketing world there are a variety of ways to attain a brand status … one is transactional. It is focusing on each transaction as a building block which places, piece by piece, the mosaic of that which is your brand. To be clear … this only works if you have an architectural schematic in which you are placing your building blocks. If you do not have that then … well ,,, they simply become random pieces scattered around the lot in which you are trying to build and whatever is created is unsteady and not a particularly attractive building from a distance.

Regardless.

A hero falls into this concept very easily … particularly if that hero is a non thinker and a doer like Trump. In this case the Hero is the one who faces a specific challenge from the enemy, faces it and overcomes it and holds the prize up high in victory only to place it as a building block on the structure the hero is demanded to defend and build.

Heroes are transactional. Heroes are doers. In heroic sagas the vision is defined, the sides are clearly established and the Hero steps forward to insure ‘what is right’ wins versus ‘what is wrong.’

Uhm.

Yikes.

While I just thought of those words and just typed them … they echo with the taint of Trump’s delivery.

Anyway.

This leads me to the kitchen table.

I actually had a great, and enlightening, discussion with a couple of Trump voters.

Once I stripped away the anti-Clinton hyperbole there were real kitchen table issues and problems they were seeking Trump to resolve. They were personal, and real, issues that were holding them back from reaching a potential they believed would be within their grasp if the obstacles were removed … uhm … if the enemies were slayed.

They admitted their knight was flawed … but they saw their knight as someone who is going to kill some enemies. And, frankly, if you believe you are in a shithole you are willing to place your ‘change the situation’ responsibility on even a risky knight. In other words, through their self-interest lens they would seek someone who understood self-interest motivations.

While I didn’t specifically reference ‘the kitchen table’ back in May I did note that Trump would play very very well in this scenario:

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But Trump is good at this … he appears tough with regard to self-interest because … well … he has been successful himself focused on self-interest.

“I’m willing to pay for it. I want to see my country winning again. Trump is a winner. And I’m sick of losing.”

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Whew <I needed to take a breath for a moment>.

Here is the problem with what I just shared <part 1> … the fact so many people believe we re actually in such a deep shithole we actually need a hero like Trump.

Here is the problem with what I just shared <part 2> … well … that is beyond the overall disturbing ‘hero mentality in a constructed us, or Me, versus them world’ … there are real enemies and then there are REAL enemies.

As a small business person sits at a kitchen table at night they face a day to day transactional enemy which can very easily be placed into the arms of some larger ‘branded’ enemy construct to blame <some evil entity created my day to day problem>. It is a specific transactional problem, and a real one I may add, which someone in a leadership position <a hero> needs to solve for me.

They are real enemies to the everyday schmuck like me.

And then there are REAL enemies … the ones who challenge my country’s position in the world. The ones who can attack not my transactional problems but rather my architectural schematic. Those are the REAL enemies.

I have said it before and I will say it again and again <and again> … being a leader does not permit you to think solely transactionally nor does it permit you to sit at every kitchen table and solve each real enemy they visit on a day to day business. I cannot remember where and when I wrote this <and I made up the numbers> but even on my best day and my best decision … in a 400 employee company I could almost guarantee at least 40 people would actually be hurt in some way by it … maybe another 40 felt no real benefit … and a large % of the rest would either slightly benefit or see some tangible benefit. And, yet, 1 year later everyone was still employed and most likely bearing some benefits unforeseen back when the decision was made.

I cannot imagine making a decision for 320 million people.

Suffice it to say … some kitchen tables will always not be happy. Suffice it to say that sometimes a leader sacrifices a building block to maintain the integrity of the architectural schematic to be built from.

I can honestly say, and from experience, this is the kind of shit that keeps a leader up at night and gives you gray hair.

In the end.

I continue to state to whomever will listen … Trump is not a leader. He has never led an organization and created a an organizational culture. He slays problems in a transactional way and believes you build pride & culture by slaying shit. That is but one part of a culture. Because wins, and slaying problems, is absolutely an important aspect of a positive business culture. But that only works as long as you have something to slay. You learn very very quickly that a purpose driven self expression culture is a much more positive business culture than a culture driven solely by an ‘us versus them’ aggressive driven culture.

To be clear.

What Trump is doing, setting aside the naïve leadership tactics and heinous wording, has value in an organization.

As a leader I would see some value in selected tactics if he were working for me. I would use him in selective ways to attain selective objectives <and maybe Pence will do so>.

I would not make him a leader … I would have him work FOR me and use him as a tool in my toolkit to move toward a horizon I envision for my organization.

And maybe that is where I personally struggle with our new President elect.

I can only really envision him as an employee … and not my leader.

Ok.

I will admit that the first time I thought that thought it felt arrogant and I shelved it.

But then as time went on I shared it with some business peers and … well … it seemed to be a consensus feeling. Setting aside some characteristics <mostly his “I in team” attitude> we all felt he could be used as ‘a guided missile type employee’ where you could point him in a direction, maybe on occasion have to say “no Donald, we cannot do that … but we can do this” and an organization could benefit. Uhm. But none of us could envision working for him.

He doesn’t feel like a leader and he certainly doesn’t feel like a leader of a large employee type organization.

He is transactional.

He is a doer.

He is not a visionary, he has no objectives <other than a nebulous ‘make america great’> and he has no clue how to build an organizational culture.

Anyway.

……………….. Trump celebrating after winning election …..

I wrote this back in May of this year, Trump celebrates imminent nomination, and … well … I am not sure I would change one word with regard to Mr. president-elect Trump who shows no signs of acting like a president.

I have come to accept I am destined to have a president who does not know how to be an effective leader nor understands the impact of words.

It is a bitter pill to swallow mostly because I demand better of any leader let alone the president of my own country.

I do not foresee Armageddon … just a lot of transactional activity. I only hope there is an architect somewhere near to whisper in his ear <other than this Bannon guy>.